It is common practice for tracheal tubes to have an inflatable sealing cuff towards their patient, distal end. The cuff is deflated so that it lies close to the wall of the tube during insertion and is then inflated via an inflation line so that the cuff expands and contacts the wall of the trachea to provide a seal with patient tissue. In this way, passage of gas along the trachea is confined to flow along the bore of the tube.
The cuffs are of tubular shape extending coaxially along the tube and are attached at opposite ends, or collars, to the outside wall of the tracheal tube shaft. The attachment is typically achieved by means of a solvent or adhesive applied between the collar and the wall of the shaft, or by thermal bonding. These methods of attachment work well with tubes made of PVC and some other plastics but there can be difficulties with cuffs made of silicone or other highly elastic material where these are arranged to be a tight fit on the shaft when deflated. In such cuffs there is a tendency for the cuff-bonding adhesive to seep from the cuff region towards the region that is intended to be inflatable. This can lead to a poorly-defined attachment border and an irregular shape when inflated. Also, the longer cure time of some adhesives may make it more difficult to form a good join.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative cuffed medical tube and a method of manufacture of a cuffed medical tube.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a cuffed medical tube of the above-specified kind, characterised in that each attachment region has a raised annular rib projecting above the surface of the shaft at inner ends of the respective regions to restrict flow of adhesive or solvent beyond the attachment regions and onto the inflatable portion of the cuff.